


A Brief History of the Minbari Federation in JMS endorsed canon

by B5Collector



Category: Babylon 5, Babylon 5 & Related Fandoms
Genre: Canon Compliant, Earth-Minbari War, First Shadow War, Garnak - Freeform, Gen, History, JMS endorsed, Minbari, Streib, Wen'dan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 05:53:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18867061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/B5Collector/pseuds/B5Collector
Summary: A synopsis of Minbari history in JMS sanctioned canon from the usual sources, script books and collectible production materials, as well as the B5W Rules Compendium, endorsed by JMS as "if you want the Real Deal, if you want accuracy, canonical authority...you've come to the right place".  I include this source since it is OOP and rare as hen's teeth.





	A Brief History of the Minbari Federation in JMS endorsed canon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kangeiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kangeiko/gifts).



5000BC-1050AD: Minbari prehistory. Power exclusively held by Religious Caste through superstition and control of information/education.

1050AD-1100AD: Minbari achieve space travel and colonize their solar system, increasing Caste tensions as the Religious leaderships of regional governments vie for control over new natural resources sending Warriors to fight and die for their hegemonies and the oppressed but materially empowered Workers revolt in 1079 leading to bitter fighting between all three Castes. Peace is established by 1100 with some concessions granted by the Religious hegemony and the Grand Council in Yedor appointed to intermediate.

1100AD-1260AD: Hyperspace expeditions begin in 1105 and despite the high casualty rate continue, leading to tentative first contacts with other species. These go peacefully, but the various races are wracked internally by Shadow manipulations, leading to some minor conflicts not involving the Minbari. Recognizing these long-running conflicts as proxy-wars by the nigh-mythical Shadows last sighted openly 9000 years ago at war with other Ancients, the Minbari form an alliance with a handful of younger races to defend their mutual borders against Shadow-influenced races, raiders and even the Shadows themselves. The First Shadow war begins with catastrophic casualties for the allied younger races until the coming of Valen in 1253 bringing both Babylon 4 and Vorlon support to the fight, though the extent of latter continues to frequently disappoint Valen and the alliance. By 1258, the tide of the 'Great' war is turning, but the Minbari helmed alliance is fractured by the insectoid Tak'cha declaing war on worlds that refused to fight the Shadows. In retaliation the Tak'cha are excised from the alliance and permanently denied military aid, but the events set back the war effort two years, pushing the final defeat of the Shadows to 1260.

1260AD-1360AD: Rule of Valen. He forms the Gray Council, balances the Castes, transferring 2/3 of the fleet to Religious/Worker control and legislating numerical equality for all three Castes in all branches of government, and writes his prophecies warning of the return of the Shadows, converting the Anla'shok to an intelligence force set to watch for this threat. With the Vorlons having returned to obscurity and many younger races of the alliance left decimated by the Shadow war and threatened by raiders and rising empires, these are brought in to form the Minbari protectorate, retaining full internal autonomy but pledging exclusive trading rights to the Minbari in exchange for perpetual military protection.

1360AD-1464AD: After the death of Valen, the Minbari continue to uphold their treaties with the Protectorate, but progressively retreat from interplanetary affairs. A number of new races begin to achieve space-capability and found colonies and empires. Contemptuous of the comparatively petty and selfish squabbles and interests of these races compared with the larger picture of the Shadow War, the Minbari distance themselves entirely from political entanglements with other worlds, trading only with the members of their own protectorate and all but ending space travel, apart from that of the Anla'shok, outside Minbari space, refusing to be drawn into conflict with other races. 

1464AD-1468AD: The Garnak, an aggressive younger race set on building a mighty empire, mistook the complete lack of colonization and conquests by the Minbari as a sign of military weakness. Deciding that crushing the famed champions of the Great War would incontrovertibly establish them as the main force of the galaxy, the Garnak destroyed several Minbari outposts at the fringes of Minbari space without warning.  
After disbelief, the Minbari flew into a rage. Not only had the act of war been unprovoked, but worse, the casualties were all civilian as the outposts were all peaceful religious retreats that as such, to Minbari logic, needed no defenses.  
The Minbari responded with a Holy War, pursuing the Garnak all the way to their planet of origin, utterly destroying the outposts and colonies the latter had established in the course of their conquest, as well as the entirely of the Garnak fleet. Though they stopped short of destroying the Garnak home world, and returned to Minbari space as abruptly as they had emerged from it, the Garnak war machine was irreparably crippled. 

1470AD-1480AD: The Centauri, once second in power to the Garnak, who had watched horrified as a power greater than themselves was nigh-effortlessly crushed by the Minbari, then perplexed as the latter simply departed after victory, rather than subjugating the defeated population or seizing its resources, swooped down on the Garnak and added them to their growing collection of subject worlds. Realizing that had the Minbari been so inclined, the older race could have easily conquered both empires long before the Garnak provoked them, the Centauri coined the warning: "Do not bother the Minbari and they will not bother you", and wisely choose to stay out of Minbari space. For their part, the Minbari retreat further into isolation, though as the Centauri empire continues to expand, and seeing a potential conflict of interests on the horizon, the Minbari open cold and distant diplomatic relations with the Centauri only to the extent necessary to prevent a war. 

1780AD-1793AD: The Wen'dan, a race of particularly aggressive and technologically advanced nomads, launch raids into known space by 1780, striking out at fringe outposts and colonies of Orieni and Centauri space, killing everyone present and stripping them of all materials. The other major powers of the era label the attacks as raider activity, too embroiled with their own wars of conquest, but the Minbari suspect differently. Anla'shok patrols at the rim detect a massive fleet approaching known space, and investigate further, determining that the nomadic and highly advanced Wen'dan plunder entire worlds for their resources, slaughtering anything in their path. Faced with a threat to the galaxy itself the Minbari go to war, sending their fleets out well past the borders of Centauri and Orieni space to engage the technologically superior enemy. While aware of the Minbari fighting an unknown foe, neither the Centauri nor Orieni realize the stakes, and choose to watch from the sidelines. For their part, the former stick to their policy of isolation, not seeking military support from the latter, and tradition, not seeking military support from their Protectorate worlds.  
The war drags on for thirteen years, at high cost to the Minbari, who nonetheless ultimately defeat the Wen'dan forces. The latter disappear beyond the Rim once more. The former again return to their own space.

1795AD-2050AD: The Minbari drift further into isolation, continuing to guard their Protectorate but not sending expeditions outside Minbari space apart from the Anla'shok. They remain aloof as all the other major powers go to war with each other. With outposts and protectorates increasingly threatened by raiders and 'misguided' forces of other races making minor incursions, the Minbari response is the progressive closing of their borders and the strengthening of their fleet. It is in this period that the Streib capture a number of Minbari for biological experimentation, to assess target races. Already at full battle readiness because of raiders swarming the wreckage of the mutually destroyed Centauri and Orieni empires, the Minbari pursue the Streib back to their homeworld and make it clear that the Minbari and those under their protection are off limits. Again they stop short of destroying the planet.

2050AD-2045AD: Though aware of the shifting galactic politics, the Minbari continue to doggedly mind their own business. With decreasing need for Minbari to do Vorlon legwork, the Vorlons/Minbari relationship slowly withers. By 2150, all formal contact ceases, and numerous Minbari expeditions sent to Vorlon space to re-establish relations vanish without a trace, presumably destroyed.

2245AD-2248AD: The EAS Prometheus fires on the Minbari government ship Valen'tha killing the Chosen one, Dukhat, and two members of the Gray council, as well as numerous personnel onboard. Once more shocked and outraged by an unprovoked attack despite their politics of isolation, the Minbari respond with a Holy War. The humans fight fiercely and well, but to little avail, faced with a technologically superior foe, though the disparity is significantly reduced in situations of ground combat. For their part, the Minbari are hampered by the unexpectedness of the war, and the fact their fleet had been largely demobilized, but neither of these make their victory any less assured. After the EAS Lexington destroys the Minbari flagship Drala Fi near the Jovian-Saturnian asteroid belt, the Wind Swords approach the Gray Council with a series of devastating bioweapons developed by the Dilgar Warmaster Jha'dur for use against the humans. Despite the Holy War, using them is deemed to be a path without honor and so is forbidden. With her project mothballed, and the oversight of the Council now restricting her, Jha'dur begins work on her immortality serum, a more insidious form of conquest, or as some speculate, revenge against the races that had destroyed hers. While crushing the last remnants of Earthforce at the Battle of the Line, the interrogation of a randomly captured human pilot revealed him to be the reincarnation of Valen, resulting in the immediate surrender of the Minbari.

2248AD-2258AD: Breaking with precedent, the Minbari begin to take an active role in interstellar relations, paying a significant part of the budget for the Babylon project when after four failures, the humans were ready to abandon it. Despite this, their first inclination remains nonintervention, unless certain demonstrations of intent have made it worth their while to intercede, e.g. increasing funding for the station only after Cmdr. Sinclair makes the 'correct' choice in raising the dock-workers' salaries rather than taking the military option available to him under the Rush Act. Despite this reserved approach to diplomacy, it inflames tensions with both the isolationist factions of Minbar and those dedicated to the prophecies of Valen, the latter fearing infiltration by Shadow agents as the date prophesied for their return approaches. Meantime the friction between two of the three Castes steadily builds as the still unexplained 'prophecy' used by the Gray Council in ordering the Minbari surrender at the Line, becomes a blanket justification for increasingly large deviations from Minbari precedent.

2259AD-2261AD: Recognizing the latest Narn/Centauri conflict as Shadow-provoked, the Minbari enter this phase in history determined to avoid conflict as long as possible in order to build their forces undisturbed for the eventual confrontation. Despite the increasing division between the Castes, they prepare for the coming conflict with mixed results. The appointment of a human to the position of Anla'Shok Na leads to the Warrior Caste withdrawing support from the Rangers, leaving the organization filled by mostly Religious Minbari. The vacancies are quickly filled in by humans and Worker Minbari, and by June of 2259, Cmdr. Sinclair is appointed as the first Entil'Zha since Valen, by the dying wish of the new Chosen One, Jenimer. By 2260, a Drazi world is selected as a secondary Ranger training camp, Babylon 5 is forced to declare its independence from the Clark regime on Earth, and Delenn breaks the Grey Council, bringing to her side the Worker and Religious Castes along with the 2/3 of the fleet they legally control, just in time to protect Babylon 5 from EA destroyers deployed under Clark's orders to destroy the station. Entil'Zha Sinclair is declared MIA and is succeeded by Delenn, and the first batch of White Stars is made combat ready, with further additions to the Army of Light fleet coming in at regular intervals. In 2261, the Minbari Warrior Caste finally joins the Army of Light*, as the Shadows and Vorlons escalate to using planet-killers against each-others allies, forcing the eventual showdown between the Army of Light and the First Ones at Corriana 6, leading to the First Ones conceding the galaxy to the younger races and going beyond the Rim. Despite the alignment of the Castes in the face of a superior foe, with the threat gone, the complete breakdown of relations between the Religious and Warrior Castes erupts into civil war, exacerbated by Drakh raids on the Minbari Protectorate and mutual accusations for which side had allowed them to happen. Hostilities are ended with the ancient Starfire Wheel ceremony where Delenn's planned self-sacrifice as Religious Caste leader is forestalled by that of the Warrior Caste 2IC/ de-facto leader, Neroon, who declares himself religious with his dying breath, thereby imbuing Delenn with the authority to rule. She founds a new Gray Council with Workers holding a 5 seat majority out of 9, and returns to Babylon 5 where she leads Minbari ships, White Star and War cruisers, as part of the fleet under Capt. Sheridan that liberates Earth.

2262AD+: The Minbari federation becomes the core of the newly founded Interstellar Alliance, with the Anla'Shok and White Star fleet becoming the IA military forces to which all member races contribute. Sheridan becomes IA president, Delenn IA vice-president and soon the capital of the IA is moved to Tuzanor on Minbar.

**Author's Note:**

> * This element of the plot was eliminated from the final aired version of B5 eps, to keep options open for a tie-in series, if WB ever decided to stop being greedy. Depending on how that would go, it could always be retconned in, by a casual mention of some Warrior cruisers at Corianna 6 or allowed to stay with the assumption they did not eventually join the AOL, depending on whether a tie-in would be like the tanked Legend of the Rangers or the Babylon Prime series JMS had envisioned way back before the first ep. aired wherein Sinclair is still in the 26th century and dad to the prophesied Messiah child (guess the mom, starts with a 'D'), the Grey Council has been broken by the MWC (Minbari Warrior Caste), set up as chief antagonists of the series, and by the end of Babylon Prime's run, the Earth Alliance saves the galaxy by force of arms. 
> 
> D.C. Fontana was brought in to script The War Prayer, then stayed on for another episode of her invention, Legacies, inspired by the funeral of Abraham Lincoln, and giving us the first look at Warriors as something more complicated than straight up monsters. To those familiar with her extensive/impressive work on Star Trek, that is very much her style. But it was the last episode she scripted for B5, and set up too strongly a reconciliation arc for the formerly warring sides to leave all options open, so in later iterations, the guest character of Alyt Neroon she created was given a much more antagonistic role by JMS until his 'redemption' in Moments of Transition, though this too was carefully scripted to make sure that redemption did not necessarily cover the MWC as a generality, as his declaration of faith makes him castable as the exception. Again, how that could be handled remained open to artistic choice should the opportunity arise.
> 
> Interestingly the "You talk like a Minbari..." line was ad-libbed by J. Vickery and in conjunction with M. O'Hare's worsening health, spawned a new storyline for the Sinclair character which effectively precluded the Babylon Prime plot, but that certainly did not close the door on shoehorning David Sheridan II in as the child of prophecy and continuing with a sequel where the MWC could serve as the high-stakes antagonists in a new war with Earth.
> 
> This tendency to leave all options open leads to situations that if created by fans would be considered severely OOC, as well as to Watsonian-irreconcilable incongruences, e.g. who would imagine after seeing just S1, sabotage of B5 and all, that G'Kar could become such an messianic figure? Or that the Molarri of S3 could be redeemable? Or that Cmdr. Ivanova, lifetime hater of PsyCorps was supposed to be the station commander in S5, with Byron yet another tragic love interest, and yet was scripted to handle the telepath crisis the exact same way that Capt. Lochley does. Odd, no?
> 
> For JMS, that's normal operating procedure to keep his options wide open. He casts the Narn as the once pacifistic victims of Centauri brutality, then as ruthless slavers in their own right, so anything he decides to script them as doing becomes believable. He casts the Minbari Holy War as one of extermination but gives an established human casualty count of ~250K and notes that they refused to use readily available biological weapons, leaving his options wide open to make them the heart of the IA or the bane of the galaxy with either option being believable. Even the Vorlons, before the planet-killers arc, had to be 'grayed up', and that is why the character of Sebastian was created in Comes the Inquisitor. 
> 
> Of course, to keep those options open, any threads that do not have to be tied off at the moment are not tied off. He never tells a story until the time is right, a great feat of discipline for the artist, and it pays dividends in giving him plots that cannot be predicted.


End file.
